


Stark & Vanko

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Series: The Holmes Estate [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Afghanistan still happened, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 2, F/M, I began posting this to motivate myself to finish it, Iron Man - Freeform, Moderated because of trolls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-12-30 06:58:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18310508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: Tony was told about Anton Vanko as a child.Shortly after the death of his father, he finds himself coming face-to-face with Ivan Vanko.





	1. The Death of a Tycoon

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.**
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> For this fic, I decided to keep the Holmeses down to Acer's son, Merton, and Palmer's daughter, Sable. Far less confusing that way. Even though they're all there, only Merton and Sable will star alongside the main cast.

Howard Stark died in his bed at the age of 93.

He went in his sleep and Maria knew when she woke up to find him still there when she woke up. Even in his old age, he’d been up and about before her. Within half an hour, his body was being removed and his son was overseeing the formal arrangements, with help from his PA, Pepper Potts.

Now, Tony stood over the gravesite, next to his mother and surrounded by their British cousins and listened as the obituary was delivered. His father had lived a long life. He’d accomplished a hell of a lot. From being born in the lower east end of New York City to making his fortune and eventually moving into his Long Island mansion where Tony had spent the vast majority of his childhood.

He’d taken down HYDRA, for the most part and almost single-handedly, and he’d created a giant of industry that dabbled in all fields of technology and innovation, and then, when he’d become too old to continue running it, he’d passed it on to his son, who’d just expanded it. He’d re-established contact with his family across the Atlantic and created quite an impressive network between the two countries, both in intelligence and law enforcement.

He was a staple of American society.

So the entire funeral, the procession, and the graveyard was heavily guarded as Howard Stark’s friends and family paid their final respects. Tony stood there, not bothering to hide his tears, with one arm wrapped around his mother’s shoulders. Maria Stark had always been a lady and did her more dramatic emotional displays in private, so she simply stood there wearing a black veil and with a handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes.

It was times like this Tony really hated the spotlight the Starks stood under. Any other widow would be able to weep openly over her husband’s grave. Any other son would be allowed to cry over his father’s grave. However, when they left the cemetery, Maria could not allow a trace of make-up to be seen as out of place. Tony would need to put on a pair of sunglasses to hide his red-rimmed eyes.  
Because when you were in the spotlight, your pain was a spectacle to the media.

It was something to point and gawk at, something to point out to the masses. Then, of course, Tony would be expected to give his father a flashy and public send-off. A part of Tony rebelled against it, but common sense won out in the end. But Pepper was right – she always was. PR-wise, it was better to just do it. It was the only form of grieving the American public would recognise as legitimate from him.

Speaking of which, he looked over on his other side as he felt the slight squeeze on his other hand. Pepper gave him a slight smile and rubbed his arm. Tony sighed. It felt better with her here. Ever since that eventful business trip, he’d realised something vastly important about Pepper and he never wanted her to go now.

He’d heard that both his father, and his father before him, had enjoyed the playboy lifestyle in much the same way Tony had been since he was a teenager. But then they grew old enough to be bored by it. He wondered if the same thing was happening to him as well. His dad had certainly seemed to think so. Strangely, the idea didn’t scare him all that much.

‘May he rest in peace.’

***

Merton Holmes sat back on the couch, a glass of scotch in his hand as he watched people pass Tony and Auntie Maria and pay their respects. Quite a few people were business partners and associates with a lot of empty words. Merton was more amused at the wide-eyed expressions of them when they realised just how big the family was.

As of this moment, they stood at over 30 members, including spouses and children, and not including Maria’s family.

Finally, at the tail end of the wake, after most people had drifted out the door, Tony walked over and plopped down next to Merton. He affected much the same posture Merton had: feet up on the table, slumped down, drink in hand. Merton looked over at his cousin as the other took a sip of something or other.

‘How’s the Reactor treating you?’ he asked.

‘Not so bad,’ Tony said. ‘About how you’d expect.’ He rubbed at his chest. The past two years, he’d had that thing imbedded in his chest. When he’d first come back with it, Uncle Howard had demanded a look at it. He’d then made the statement that it couldn’t stay as it was or it’d start poisoning Tony.

So he showed Tony the blueprints for the next element he’d started in the 70s, but never managed to finish.

They may have gutted one of their houses in construction of it, but they worked it out.

‘So how long are you staying?’ Tony asked with an undercurrent of hope in his voice.

‘I suppose we can stay for whatever fanfare you’re now expected to throw for Uncle Howard.’

***

Pepper keyed in the code to Tony’s workshop.

When she’d first come to work for Tony 12 years ago, as soon as Tony decided he liked her he took her to “a quick stopover”, which turned out to be code for “I’m taking you to meet the rest of my family so you understand me a bit better”. Although they had a variety of different last names, they were collectively referred to as the Holmeses. This, it turned out, was because they all stemmed from the Holmes family.

The Holmes staff had made the situation very clear. They had told her about the previous generations – about Siger Holmes, and Sherlock Holmes, about Tony’s father and grandfather. It was still strange to think that Tony’s playboy attitude was just a phase that all Stark men went through in their lifetime. But, truth, be told it had been tapering off in recent years. And it was about the right time for Tony to be getting bored with being a playboy.

Of course, knowing that his family was just ten steps ahead of everyone else; that he was a man of tomorrow living in an archaic world made Pepper look at Tony through that lens. With those descriptors to work from she could actually see it. Tony could anticipate problems, trends, and all sorts of other things before anyone else ever considered them. He could make connections that other people wouldn’t for years, like his great-great grandfather Siger Holmes had with schloss green.

Hell, most of Tony’s work in bringing SI to be an international giant of industry was due to his ability to think ten steps ahead of everyone else. He knew most people outside of his own family were, compared to him, slow. Even highly intelligent people were slow compared to him. Tony had graduated High School at the age of 14 and then gone on to earn multiple PhDs while simultaneously learning how to run Stark Industries under his father’s tutelage.

Apparently, Rhodey had also been introduced to the family for much the same reason Pepper had been.

‘Tony?’ Pepper called.

‘Back here!’ Tony’s voice came from the very back of his lab.

Pepper walked back to where his voice had come from. Because he was in private, the Arc Reactor in his chest could be seen glowing brightly. Both Pepper and Maria had been horrified at the thought of what he must’ve gone through in Afghanistan to get that put in. It was made even worse that Howard and Tony had decided to tinker further with it.

But...ten steps ahead of everybody else. It turned out to be a good thing.

The space Tony was moving around had the layout of the Howard Stark Memorial Expo that Tony was planning. The Stark Expo generally happened annually, to showcase the new patents that SI had developed in the past year. This one was a little bit different. Because of where his father had originally come from, Tony had decided to invite schoolkids from the city’s underprivileged neighbourhoods to display their own inventions. Particularly gifted kids would then be interned at Stark Industries. In the instance that they were too young, the internship would be set aside for them.

It was basically going to be a massive science fair.

‘We’ve got all the formalities out of the way,’ Pepper said. ‘The schools accepted the proposal enthusiastically – a little too enthusiastically in some cases.’ But that might have had something to do with the reputable consequences of having one of their students end up interning at Stark Industries. ‘How are things on your end?’

‘Real good,’ Tony said, stepping away from his 3-D model. ‘I based the layout on the Stark Expo map where dad hid the blueprints for Starkanium. We should be ready to start setting up the arena soon. Have you got the list of participants?’ He knew she did and his hand was already out for them. Pepper immediately handed him the iPad which had the list of students each school was sending.

‘I still don’t understand why you went for both elementary and high schools,’ Pepper said.

‘Because I might find some sparks in the younger age group,’ Tony said. ‘Kids are more open to going into that stuff early. Dad used to tell me stories about people giving up on their dreams when they were still kids when he was growing up because of their socio-economic status.’

Pepper nodded in acquiescence. But there was still one issue. ‘Well, the fact is, Tony, these kids are from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. How do we know they’ll be able to get there in time to set up before the expo starts?’

Tony started answering her question before she even finished it. ‘Put in a shuttle bus option for the kids’ parents.’

‘Who’s going to drive the shuttle bus?’

‘Pep, our company employs over five thousand people in the city alone. I’m sure we can find someone willing to do it.’

‘Yes, but that someone will have to be cleared for working with children.’

‘No big deal. About half of our guys in admin have gotten the checks done. And, if worse comes to worse, we’ll just push them through.’

As this conversation was going on, Tony was rushing through the lab with Pepper following. If she hadn’t been part of it, she would have been amazed at it. They could speak over the top of each other and they still heard every word the other said. Then again, she had when she’d first met the Starks. Howard and Maria Stark had spoken like that. Pepper had since come to the conclusion that one could learn to do it once one learned to keep up with a Stark. Regardless, Tony had a point. There were several of her work colleagues that already had passed police checks for their suitability for working with children. Any one of those could drive a shuttle bus around New York for these children.

Pepper sighed. ‘All right, then, Mr. Stark, would you like me to begin the selection process?’

‘Good idea,’ Tony said. ‘This should be a great night.’

**Elsewhere**  
An unkempt man stood before a wall that was plastered with years and years of articles detailing Tony Stark: from the day he built his first circuit board right up to the recent announcement of this very special Stark Expo. That even included the press’s scepticism on his reveal as Iron Man.

The man glared at the articles as if they had personally offended him.

He then turned and looked down at a set of blueprints bearing a single name.

_Howard Stark._


	2. The Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Sable both notice a stranger hanging around as they begin preparations for the Stark Expo.

Sable Holmes typed away at the computer.

Even though she had left the country for a funeral, her boss hadn’t really seen an uncle dying as a reason for her to take bereavement leave. So she was still expected to do her job while she was here. Fortunately for her, she was a hacker for MI6. Her childhood exposure to both her uncle and her cousin had made her far more computer-saavy than she would be ordinarily. And their particular skill set meant that most of the family worked in one division or another of the British government.

Except for old Uncle Sherlock’s descendants.

They tended to follow in his footsteps and work as independent detectives.

And they worked with the police on occasion.

Still…Sable leaned back and yawned. _Dull._ When she was given no mission parameters, she honestly was just expected to scan about for suspicious activity. And, honestly, Tony’s AI, JARVIS, was doing most of the work. Sable looked at the screen, bored as she watched the data skim over.

Then she abruptly straightened up. ‘Hold it!’

The screen stopped. ‘Is something wrong, Miss Holmes?’ JARVIS asked.

Sable leaned forward. ‘Go back a bit.’

JARVIS did so, slowly. Sable lifted a hand to tell to tell him where to stop. She leaned in further and narrowed her eyes. Then she tapped the screen, and highlighted the data. ‘There was a person smuggled into the country.’

‘England?’ JARVIS asked.

‘No. America. Into New York, in fact.’

‘Shall I alert the authorities?’

Sable tapped her finger against the desk. ‘Do it anonymously. And indicate that there is a reason to suspect it rather than saying you know it for sure. The details in here that tell me a human was smuggled in is a little too subtle for most people.’ She stood up. ‘I’m gonna see if I can find out who and why.’

***

Maria smiled as she watched Tony and Pepper walking back into the house.

They reminded her so much of her and Howard at that point in their relationship. She just hoped they didn’t follow suit and end up bearing their true feelings to each other whilst one of them was injured and they were buried under debris. Although, with Tony’s little Iron Man sideline, it was more likely to happen in similar circumstances.

Maria walked away from the window and made her way to the ground floor.

Tony and Pepper were arguing about some detail on the expo. Maria smiled as she was hit by the nostalgia as she watched them. One of Howard’s favourite phrases when it came to those two came to mind: _Oh my God – they’re us!_ And they were. Tony had always been his father’s son, right down to his taste in women.

And, as they looked up from their work in the living room, Sable and Merton were giving Tony and Pepper the exact same looks the rest of the family had once delivered to Howard and Maria.

Tony looked up. ‘Mom! We got the venue started. I was wondering if you might want to come and take a look.’

Maria smiled. ‘I’d love to take a look.’

***

Tony pulled into the venue and parked the car.

‘Oh, I remember this place,’ his mother said with a fond smile as she got out of the car. ‘It was where your dad set up a lot of his demonstrations.’

‘We’re using it for the same reason,’ Tony said. ‘It’s got all the facilities we need for all kinds of science projects.’

‘How many students have you got coming in?’ Maria asked.

‘So far? 358. But more and more schools are signing up. We’re guesstimating about 500 before the closing date.’

Maria smiled. ‘Your father would have loved this, Tony.’

Tony grinned.

Yeah, his dad had come from one of those neighbourhoods. He was often depressed about all the kids in those places who had never had the same opportunities Tony had. More than once, his father had lamented upon it. “Look at you, Tony,” he’d say, especially when Tony was taking his privilage for granted, “you’re a bright star and everybody knows it. You know, there are some kids out there who don’t get to shine because they were born poor.”

His mom didn’t like those kind of lines, but Tony understood it.

His dad wasn’t disparaging anyone. He was just pointing out to his son that the only reason he got to shine was because he was born to parents with wealth and influence. There were plenty of kids just like him who were overlooked because of who their parents were or because of where they were born. Now, as a tribute to his father, Tony was giving those kids a chance to shine.

It made him feel good.

Tony ignored the photographers outside the perimeter of the building as he showed his mother where they were going to be putting everything. By now, they were rather like flies: you knew they were there, but as long as they stayed away they were neither here nor there. He just watched as his mother looked around the place and let him give her the guided tour.

It was when they were getting back into the car that Tony’s eyes were drawn up.

All those years, growing up with the Holmeses, had given Tony a knack for seeing the small details. Not to the level they saw them, but he still saw these things. And Tony’s eyes were drawn to a man standing amongst the bystanders that were lining the barrier that’d been erected around the complex while they were setting up for the expo.

He was standing back, clearly trying not to stand out. But Tony could see him: shaggy hair under a cap, tall and looking so much older than Tony himself. And he was looking directly at Tony. There was a look in his eyes that Tony really didn’t like. The look had made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end before he’d even seen the man.

The good thing was that the man didn’t seem to notice that Tony had focused in on him. The sunglasses Tony wore had covered up the direction in which is eyes were pointing. Tony waited until his mom was in the car before he walked around to the driver’s side and called out to his friend.

‘Happy?’

His head of security walked over. ‘Yes, boss?’

‘Shades,’ Tony said quietly.

With a tight smile, Happy slid them on in a casual manner that he’d perfected over the years.

‘See that guy over there?’ Tony asked, discreetly nodding. ‘Looks homeless. Glaring at me like I personally offended him?’

Happy surveyed the crowd. ‘Yeah, I see him.’

‘I got a feeling. Find out who he is.’

‘You got it.’ Happy moved off.

Tony climbed back in the car.

‘Everything all right?’ his mother asked.

‘Yeah.’ Tony grinned at her. ‘Sure.’

***

The three cousins stood in the workshop, looking up at the data.

‘Looks like we’ve found your illegal alien,’ Merton remarked to Sable.

‘J?’ Tony called. ‘Have you alerted intelligence?’

‘I have, sir,’ the AI named after the late butler answered. ‘As he was hanging around the expo grounds, the issue has been bumped up in priority. If he is not caught by the time that the expo is held, both the FBI and the CIA have assured us that there will be teams of agents in attendance to ensure the safety of the children.’

Sable shook her head. ‘He’s unlikely to be interested in the children at all.’

‘Which appears to be the same conclusion that both agencies have come to as well, Miss Holmes,’ JARVIS said. ‘However, they do want to be safe.’

Tony nodded. ‘So do I. I want to give these kids a chance at a better life, not to end their lives.’

***

That same unkept man slid the last piece of his puzzle into place. That was it. For as long as he could remember, this had been the objective. It was the work of a lifetime, no, of two lifetimes – it was what his father had died before he could see it completed – and it was finally finished. It was finally time.

A blue glow was thrown up into his face.

It was finally completed.

He could begin in earnest now.

The time for his vengeance had come.


	3. The First Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their unknown enemy makes his first move.

‘As amusing as it is watching a bunch of headmasters measure their rulers,’ Pepper said, ‘I don’t think you need to encourage them.’

Tony just cracked a grin. ‘But it breaks up the monotony of this little “meet and greet”.’

Pepper sighed. ‘Tony, this is an event set up so that the media can get words in from representatives from the schools that’ve been invited to the expo. And we need to answer questions that the schools have in regards to transporting their students and what equipment the students will need to bring to the expo.’

They were briefly interrupted by a couple of school principals coming over to ask just that question.

As they left again, Tony added, ‘Also to register the students and their preferred fields.’ All very formal and boring. Tony wasn’t fond of it, but he also knew it had to be done. He pulled a small round object out of his pocket and flicked it up into the air. As it landed and the strange liquid that made up the ball spread over and wrapped around his hand, Pepper groaned.

‘Tony!’

‘What?’ He manipulated it back into ball form. ‘It’s just my nanoball.’

Pepper snatched it out of his hand. ‘Not the time to play with it!’ She dropped it into her purse.

Tony pouted.

Truth be told, he’d prefer to be back home with his cousins. Merton and Sable in particular he’d always been closest too. Merton was right around his age so they’d often played together as kids. Sable had been the one closest to him in the way that she was far more computer-saavy than any of their other cousins. She was always up for whatever tech-based prank he’d dreamt up when they were kids – even as adults, much to Pepper’s chargain...and his mom’s...and Sable’s mom’s. And probably some other people.

Oh, well.

***

The party was in full swing.

Stark was there, and so was that little PA he was so very fond of.

Well, rumour had it that he was more than just fond of her. Sure, the press liked making up stories about Stark and any woman that came into contact with him, but looking at them now...They looked like an old married couple to be honest – the way they interacted with each other. She would be the perfect weak spot for him to target.

Yes, he would allow anyone else to run.

But not her.

Not them.

With a self-satisfied smirk, he drew his Reactor-powered whip back.

***

The glass shattered.

‘Run!’ Pepper felt herself pushed away from the shattered windows as Tony uttered the word. She barely knew what was happening, though. People ran in a mad rush to get away from what seemed to be a whip-weilding nut. Pepper sought Tony out in the crowd. He had a hand to his ear, obviously getting JARVIS to send his suit, as he stood among the people running away.

Pepper’s eyes sought out the nut in question.

She found him – but not how she wanted to.

She found him because she suddenly had a warm coil of metal-studded leather wrapped around her neck. Her hand instantly flashed up, instinctively trying to stop the coil from choking her. Her gut dropped down to her feet as she looked over at the man with shoulder-length shaggy hair. He smirked at Tony.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ he said in a distinct Russian accent.

Tony was frozen. His eyes locked on hers. He tore his eyes off of her and looked at the man. ‘Who are you?’

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he said, ‘Get rid of that earpiece. Put your hands where I can see them or I pull.’

Tony’s eyes darted to the coil around Pepper’s neck. More aware of it now than ever, Pepper found she could easily count out the beats of her own heart. Her pulse was beating against the coil and she could feel every thump of it against her neck. Tony pulled the earpiece from his ear and tossed it aside, and then lifted both of his hands. He cautiously moved forward. ‘What do you want?’

‘What I want, Stark...’ the man lashed out with the whip in his other hand. A second coil went around Tony’s neck. His hands snapped up and grabbed it. ‘...is for you to suffer the way that we suffered.’

‘Not making a lotta sense here,’ Tony said. ‘Might help if I had a name.’

The man sneered. ‘Whether you know who I am or not is irrelevant. All I want is to see the same pain in your eyes as you subjected me to.’

Pepper’s first thought was the weapons – but they hadn’t been made since the Korean War. The guy looked old enough to have been a child at the time, but he was Russian. Did Russia get involved in the Korean Conflict? They might have. After all, the Cold War was in full swing back then. If Russia did get involved, and this guy had lost his father to the battlefield, he might have blamed the Starks because their weapons were the best in the market back then. Howard was gone, which left only Tony to blame for the clearly unstable son left behind.

The other option, of course, was that he was the son of one of the casualties – all of whom, Pepper knew for a fact, were terrorists, or affiliated with terrorists – of Tony’s battles as Iron Man.

Then Tony caught her eye.

Pepper knew what he wanted.

Their captor was focusing all his attention on Stark, so Pepper slowly and carefully let go of the coil around her neck. She slipped her hand down into her purse and prayed to a God she wasn’t sure existed. The contents of her purse were impeccably ordered so she knew nothing would jingle and get this guy’s attention, especially when Tony asked him yet another question pertaining to his identity.

‘Look, right now, I’m shooting in the dark. I’ve got no idea who the hell you are. And I’d like to know why I’m being attacked.’ He made an effort not to draw any attention to her.

Pepper wrapped her hand around the nanoball.

The man smirked. ‘Well, I’d like your fortune. It doesn’t mean I’m going to get it. But I can get my revenge.’

Pepper drew the nanoball out of her bag. Tony dropped his hand. He gave her the slightest nod. She threw the nanoball to him and Tony lifted his hand. The ball hit and quickly covered the whole limb. Their captor started, evidently taken completely by surprise. Tony didn;’t give him a chance to recover himself. The nanoball was in its ball shape again and Tony threw it – right into the man’s face.  
The man cried out and jammed his eyes shut. The nanoball quickly covered his face. He’d still be able to breathe, but opening his eyes back up was out of the question. He let go of the two whips he held and grappled at the covering. The coil fell from around both their necks and Tony shot forward.

With two punches and a kick, Tony had him on the ground, groaning in pain. He then kicked the whips away just as the doors burst open and the police poured in. Tony leaned over and pulled his nanoball off of the man’s face. ‘All yours, guys.’ He then walked over to Pepper. ‘You okay?’ He ducked his head to check her neck.

‘I’m fine,’ Pepper said. ‘What about you?’

‘No harm done.’ Tony nodded and walked over to pick up his earpiece. As he put it back in, he said. ‘Yup. All dealt with JARVIS? Yeah?’ He chuckled.

‘Your cousins?’ Pepper asked, watching the police cuff up the man and haul him away.

‘Yup.’ Tony grinned. ‘Merton, Sable, and J were coordinating with the authorties to let them know when it was safe to come in.’

And JARVIS would have had access to the security cameras. Even if this guy had managed to shut them down, JARVIS could remotely get them working again.

‘Mr. Stark?’ one of the men – the field commander from the look of him – walked over.

And now came the bit where they had to give the police witness testimony.

At least this was one thing Tony never shirked or complained about.


	4. Prison Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Merton, and Sable drop in to find out who the attacker is.

Pepper stood in front of the press, with Tony.

This was something that had to be done. They had to explain why the event had been attacked by what was clearly a deranged criminal. That was especially true when one considered the fact that children were involved in this whole thing. Pepper knew that some people were talking about how the schools should pull out.

Thankfully, those were small numbers compared to the people it was just some guy with a grudge against Tony Stark, and it was more likely to be a one-off event.

‘While it is true,’ Tony said, ‘that the most recent preliminary event was gatecrashed by a dangerous criminal, the criminal in question was apprehended by our efficient law enforcement and has been taken into custody. Extra safety precautions have been taken to ensure that such an attack will not repeat itself in future, and all precautions are being taken to guarantee the safety of all of the children attending the Stark Expo.’

Good speech, but Pepper knew they couldn’t be absolutely sure of any of this until they found out what that guy was and what he’d wanted.

Of course, that was the first question they were asked.

‘How can you be so certain of this, Mr. Stark? While no one was severely injured in this incident, who’s to say another one like it won’t occur again.’

Tony almost smirked. Obviously, this reporter was quite green. ‘The man in question is in custody. He is a Russian citizen and is in the process of being deported back to his homeland. His method of illegally entering this country and he has been placed on a watch list.’

The kid blushed.

Tony took pity on his though. ‘In the event that he does escape, though, we have several security features and defences which will ensure the safety of the public.’

Another reporter spoke up. ‘Who was he, Dr. Stark?’

‘As of yet, I don’t know.’

And Pepper really wished he hadn’t decided to go and personally find out.

Well...at least his cousins were going with him.

***

A British intelligence officer, a private detective, and a billionaire walked into the interrogation room.

The man from the previous night looked up as they walked in. His eyes flicked first to Merton and then to Sable, but they locked on Tony. He said nothing though. Tony walked over and sat down opposite him. There was a silence for a moment. Then Sable flicked out a small device, drawing his attention to her.

‘I’d almost be impressed,’ she said. ‘If not for a few very basic details, you could’ve actually tricked people into believing someone other than yourself had illegally smuggled you into this country.’

The man pulled a face but then he sneered. ‘And how do you know no one did?’

‘Mostly because the company that you’re trying to lay the blame on is entirely fictitious,’ Merton said. ‘You just made a name up and tacked it on. It kind of stood out like a sore thumb. I expect you were intending to find a real person to stick the label onto, because you clearly came here to commit murder. Your problem was that it was picked up quickly and the authorities were waiting to see who came to collect. Our problem was that you slipped out without them noticing so they were left with an empty box. The fact that there was a security camera there only told them that you were a person. Of course, by that time, Sable already knew that someone had smuggled themselves in.’ He nodded to her.

The man looked at her.

‘The coating in your little hidey-hole was quite impressive,’ Sable remarked. ‘And when luggage is scanned at customs, they’re generally looking for certain objects – weapons, drugs, that sort of thing. So if they see what looks like a big empty box, well, there’s no reason for them to stop it and look, because they have the luggage of hundreds of other passengers to process. They will note it down, though.’

‘And sniffer dogs?’ Tony asked.

‘Well, I’ll give him that one,’ Merton remarked. ‘He used airports that had small budgets and, therefore, could not or would not afford to employ the use of sniffer dogs.’

Tony nodded. ‘Which also means their scanning equipment would be below standard, or pretty close to it.’

‘Very much so,’ Sable said. ‘So...who are you?’

The man just smirked.

‘Oh, not this again!’ Merton rolled his eyes.

‘Well, you can hardly expect a man such as you to understand,’ the man said.

Tony cocked his eyebrow. ‘No, not really.’ He lifted a hand, as if examining his cuticles. ‘White, American rich boy, born and bred. What do I know about crazy terrorists?’

The smirk fell off of the man’s face. ‘A crazy terrorist?’ he demanded. ‘You, just a white, American rich boy? You have no idea the sins your family has infringed upon mine. You and your father are thieves. You have no idea what you have taken from me. I will ensure the mistake from 40 years ago is corrected and no one can stop it. Not this cell, not your federal authorities, and certainly not you, Stark.’

Tony’s face didn’t twitch. Only his cousins saw him internally squash down the urge to punch Vanko in the face; only his cousins saw the spark of intuition flash across his eyes. But Tony gave no one else any outwards signs. Instead, he stood up and gave the man a bright smile – the kind of thing he reserved for business rivals and obnoxious reporters.

‘Thank you, Mr. Vanko. That makes things much clearer.’

The man’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Tony led Sable and Merton out of the room.

Sable was typing away at her device.

‘Vanko?’ the agent in charge of holding the illegal alien asked.

Tony nodded. ‘Dad told me about when I was a kid. Anton Vanko pretended to defect to America and then helped dad build the Arc Reactor prototype, which now powers our factory. Vanko then tried to steal it back to Russia, but dad caught him and turned him in. He was deported.’

‘Anton Vanko died a handful of years ago,’ Sable reported from what she was reading. ‘After his failure to acquire the Arc Reactor, he also failed to hold a steady job – but that seems to be because he became a drunk. And a violent one, at that. His wife and son, Ivan, suffered for it.’ She lifted her eyes. ‘Ivan was quite young when the Arc Reactor incident happened.’

The agent frowned. ‘So...he thinks the Arc Reactor made the Starks rich and their loss of it was why he lived in poverty.’

‘In his defence,’ Merton pointed out, ‘that is probably what his father told him for years on end. The Arc Reactor would have been the Big Thing to his father. He would have expected to make a fortune off of it. Losing it caused him to go into a permanent depression. It would’ve been all he could talk about. When you grow up hearing something from your parents, no matter how inaccurate, or nonsensical – even from a violent drunk – you tend not to question it.’

The agent nodded. ‘So...what are you going to do?’

‘I’ll leave him in your hands,’ Tony said, ‘but I don’t expect he’ll go back to Russia quietly, so I’m going to let my board and the military know.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's shorter - mostly because I didn't think Tony'd take too long to work out who Vanko was in this universe.


	5. History of the Arc Reactor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tells Rhodey and Pepper about the Vankos.
> 
> Ivan Vanko receives a visitor.

Rhodey had come to the lab when Tony called him there.

He wasn’t expecting what he heard. ‘So, this guy’s the son of the guy who helped your dad build the original Arc Reactor and then tried to steal it back to Russia?’

‘Pretty much.’

‘So, his old man got deported back to Russia and then dumped? Ended up dying a destitute drunk?’ Rhodey shook his head. ‘How is any of that your fault?’

‘It isn’t, but it looks like he’s evidently convinced that if it went the other way, he’d be the rich guy.’

Rhodey scoffed. ‘But your fortune didn’t come from the Arc Reactor. That’s just something you use to cut down on electricity costs. Your dad made his fortune in the war.’

‘Yeah,’ Tony said.

Rhodey hesitated. ‘So...the guy’s crazy...?’

‘I’m not sure how crazy he is,’ Tony remarked. ‘J found out that he was meant to be set up for life if he brought the Reactor back, so something in him likely snapped when he failed. From the sounds of things, it was him who thought that Howard and he were in their respective positions because of the Reactor and he probably taught his son that from an early age.’

Rhodey nodded. ‘And now his kid’s decided to take it out on you. How’d your mom take it?’

‘Well, she’s just happy that he’s behind bars. Says as long as he stays there, there’s nothing for us to worry about.’

‘You still want me to report it to the brass?’

‘Yeah.’ Tony frowned. ‘I’m not so arrogant as to think that he doesn’t have any blueprints for the Reactor. I maybe a genius, but he’s bound not to be a dummy if his father gave mine what he needed to finish the Arc Reactor.’

‘You’re counting on him being able to replicate the miniaturised one,’ Rhodey stated.

‘Yup.’

Rhodey nodded to himself. ‘Well, never let it be said you don’t cover all your bases.’

Tony chuckled.

***

Tony lifted his head as he heard the sound of high heels on the stairs leading down to his lab. He sat back and waited as Pepper keyed in the access code. He couldn’t see a bruise on her anymore, but he never wanted to see her in that position again. When she opened the door and walked in, he asked.

‘You okay?’

Pepper nodded. ‘Rhodey just left. He said that guy had something to do with your father...?’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Tony idly realised he’d forgotten to actually tell Pepper who the Vankos were. She probably ought to know. Tony could think of three people, just off the top of his head, who might decide an illegal alien with a grudge against the Starks maybe a useful ally. He turned his chair and stood up. ‘Ivan Vanko. He’s the son of Anton Vanko.’

‘And who’s Anton Vanko?’ Pepper asked, following him as he moved through his holograms.

‘1960s,’ Tony said. ‘Dad’s having trouble working out the Arc Reactor. Along comes Anton Vanko. Claims to be defected from Russia.’

‘Claims?’ Pepper asked with a pointed tone.

‘Yup. Turns out, he’s not. Turns out the Russians noticed dad was trying to build something using the Tesseract. They sent Vanko to help him complete it and then steal it back to Russia for their own use.’

‘The Arc Reactor?’ Pepper demanded incredulously. ‘Didn’t you have more than enough trouble moving it from New York to Malibu? And that’s after it’d been refined and perfected.’

‘Yup.’

‘So how did he expect to move it from America to Russia?’

‘Through Alaska, maybe? I dunno. Either way, dad caught him at it.’ Tony manipulated one of the holographic suits. ‘He ousted Vanko and the guy was deported. From what I get, Vanko was supposed to be set up for life upon bringing the Arc Reactor back. When he didn’t, he was abandoned by whatever government faction hired him. Ended up a violent drunk without a penny to his name.’

‘What’s that got to do with you?’ Pepper asked.

‘Well, apparently, he decided the reason for his misfortune wasn’t the fact that he was wasting the cash he did get on booze; it wasn’t that he failed to pull up his boots and get on with his life. It was because dad had scammed him out of the Arc Reactor. He spent Ivan Vanko’s whole life telling him this and now the guy’s come after me for revenge.’

‘So he’s trying to ruin Howard’s farewell and he’s taking it out on you?’ Pepper asked.

‘I’ll be honest with you, Pep,’ Tony said, walking over and taking her upper arms. ‘If our roles were reversed, I’m not sure I wouldn’t do the same thing.’

Pepper’s eyes softened. ‘I don’t think you would.’

‘Really?’ Tony was surprised at that. ‘Why not?’

‘Well, for one, it’s not in your nature to blame other people for your problems.’

‘How do you know that’s not the result of a stable upbringing?’

Pepper shook her head. ‘For another, you have a massive family you can fall back on – and that entire family is completely logical. Any reasoning like that would be ruthlessly shot down.’

‘I suppose so...’ Tony considered it a moment and then he chuckled. ‘Hey, maybe you’re right. Maybe I wouldn’t, but I can still understand why he did.’ He leaned over and kissed the crown of Pepper’s head.

Pepper just smiled as he went back to work.

***

**Federal Prison**  
Vanko looked up as the guard let in a new visitor.

This one, he didn’t recognise. He was still in a rich man’s business suit, but he was short and he wore horn-rimmed glasses. He gave him a smile. ‘Mr. Vanko.’

‘And you are...?’ Ivan asked.

‘Justin Hammer.’

Vanko sat back as much as the cuffs would allow. ‘And to what do I owe this little visit, Mr. Hammer?’

‘I hear you have some problems with the Starks.’

There was something in his tone. Vanko cocked an eyebrow. ‘You do as well?’

‘I want to see Tony Stark destroyed. I want to ruin him. I want him penniless and broken, on the ground, sobbing.’

An attractive image. ‘And what are your reasons?’

‘The Starks haven’t made actual weapons since the early 50s, but the military still spends more money on their gear than mine. Satellite tracking, protective combat gear, armoured vehicle, weapon accessories...All of that is SI.’

So...Stark was taking money from more people. ‘And it, how do you say, rubs you the wrong way? You expect me to get rid of him for you?’

‘Stark has no one lined up to take over the company after him. If he falls, the company goes with him.’ Hammer smirked. ‘I’d say our goals align.’

Vanko nodded thoughtfully. ‘Get me out of this cell and I’ll see what I can do.’

‘Done.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the "weapons accessories" are basically stabilisers to stop HammerTech from exploding in the soldiers' faces.


	6. Planning Process

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's getting ready for the inevitable clash.

Tony turned from the hologram of the Expo grounds as JARVIS said the words, ‘Sir, Mr. Vanko has escaped from federal prison.’

‘Well, shit,’ Tony muttered. ‘Sable and Merton?’

‘On their way down now, sir.’

‘Start scanning,’ Tony told him. ‘Who could have broken him out? Who would want to? Visitors besides us. Also, gague his likely next move by past behaviours.’

‘Of course, sir.’

Moment later, his cousins sprinted down the stairs. Sable punched in the code and shoved the door open.

‘I expect JARVIS told you?’ she asked.

‘Yup.’

‘He’ll probably attack again,’ Merton said.

Tony nodded. ‘Which means I need to defend the expo.’ He turned back to the hologram. ‘Access points?’ Waving his hands various parts of the map lit up. ‘How are the feds approaching this?’ he asked Sable.

‘They’re trying to keep it quiet,’ Sable said. ‘They’re afraid of inciting mass panic if it became known that a dangerous terrorist is loose. Can you postpone the expo?’

Tony shook his head. ‘It’s five days away – including the weekend. There’s too much already been put in to say “we’ll do it another time”. All I can do is defend those kids – make sure Vanko never gets near them.’

‘Shall I call Col. Rhodes, sir?’ JARVIS asked.

‘Yeah,’ Tony said. ‘Tell him I’ve got a little present for him. Also, call Pepper. See if she can’t do something on her end.’

Meanwhile the three geniuses (genii?) worked out the defences and protections for the number of kids that were going to be at the expo.

***

Pepper rubbed her temples.

The federal authorities wanted to keep it quiet – with good reason – but the fact of the matter was that she could _not_ get the expo postponed without admitting to the thing that they didn’t want to say. There was too much money already invested, and too much media attention on the whole thing. Not to mention the fact that this was the only form of grieving for his father that the media would count as legitimate.

The PR department had predicted a massive drop in stocks if they did postpone without giving the real reason why.

‘Pepper?’

Pepper turned and smiled lightly when she saw Maria walking in. Tony’s mother had been _the PR department_ before most other companies caught onto the fact that it might take an entire department to maintain a good reputation – back when rich white men were important because they were rich white men.

‘You look tired, dear,’ Maria said. ‘You should probably take a rest.’

‘I don’t think I can,’ Pepper said.

Maria sighed. ‘I’m no happier about it, but there’s little we can do. We’ll just have to trust that the defences Tony’s set up will be enough.’

Pepper forced a smile.

***

‘Stark moves around all the time,’ Hammer said. ‘And with the Iron Man suit, he can. You’d need to pin him down. As it stands, the only place you could do that is at the Expo.’

‘Seems fitting,’ Vanko mused.

‘Well, yeah. Only thing I’m concerned about is the number of kids that’ll be there.’

‘They won’t be in my way,’ Vanko assured him.

Justin looked over at him, focused as he was on his project. ‘Okay, then.’

***

Rhodey followed Tony downstairs and into his lab.

‘So what’s going on?’ Rhodey asked. ‘I mean, I heard that Vanko escaped but...’

‘Got a little present for you,’ Tony told him. ‘Come on.’

Rhodey followed Tony through the lab. DUM-E rolled over and beeped at Tony, who gave the bot a light pat and moved on. Then Tony pulled open a set of double doors on the other side of the lab. Rhodey knew this room. It was where Tony hid his projects when he didn’t want other people to see them. Even Pepper wasn’t allowed in when he had something going in there. Now, as he pushed the doors open, Rhodey looked inside.

‘Think of it as an early birthday present,’ Tony said.

Rhodey’s jaw dropped. ‘Is that...?’

‘Yup,’ Tony said.

Sitting in the middle of the room, there was a black and silver suit that looked almost identical to the Iron Man suit. There were a few differences. Of course, Rhodey was under no illusions. Tony was a genius – he came from a family of them. The Iron Man suit would have been tailored to that. This suit – this one that Tony had designed for him – would clearly be tailored more for him, who couldn’t invent his own computer language.

‘You wanna give it a spin?’ Tony asked.

Rhodey grinned. ‘Hell, yeah!’

Ten minutes later – ‘Shit! You make this look easy, Tony!’ Rhodey stumbled out of the suit.

‘Eh, you’ll get used to it,’ Tony said, walking over to the kitchenette. ‘You have any idea how many times I smacked into things while I was learning?’

‘I believe the average was six times per day, sir,’ JARVIS put in.

‘Right.’ Tony poured them both a drink as Rhodey came over and handed one glass to him.

‘So...what’s the deal?’ Rhodey asked. ‘Why are you giving me a suit now?’

‘Well, I was planning on it anyway,’ Tony said. ‘With a few stipulations. Vanko just hurried me up a bit – especially after he broke out. By the way, you should probably let the brass know that if anyone but you or me tries to do anything to that suit, they’ll get an impromptu flying lesson.’

‘How do you have my genetic code?’ Rhodey asked.

‘Same way you have access to my lab,’ Tony said. ‘A genetic code is essentially just a string of numbers.’

Rhodey nodded in acquiesence. ‘So, what’s got you nervous about Vanko?’

‘Well, he obviously didn’t escape by himself,’ Tony said. ‘Last person in there before he got out was Hammer.’

‘You think Hammer’s stupid enough to aid an illegal alien?’ Rhodey asked.

Tony looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow.

‘Point taken. So? You’re not worried about Hammer, are you? Guy can’t build for shit. It’s why we use your stabilisers.’

‘Something Hammer takes exception to.’ Tony chuckled and shook his head. ‘No. While Hammer couldn’t build a model boat to save his life, Vanko’s clearly more competent. You know what Hammer could do? Give Vanko the money and resources he needs to stage an actual armed assault on us. You can call the suit what you like, but I wouldn’t protest some back-up when the expo’s going on.’

‘So you want me to be your eyes and ears if they decide to attack on that night?’

‘Pretty much.’

Rhodey nodded. ‘I’m sure I can use War Machine to do that.’

Tony laughed.


	7. The Expo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Expo Begins.

A pre-teen boy just about had his face glued to the glass of the passenger-side window as the car approached the building. The driver next to him pulled up at the gate and rolled the window down. He handed a pass over to the guard, who looked at it, nodded, and then hit the switch to open the gate.

‘Is this it?’ the boy asked.

‘This is it,’ the man next to him said. ‘Howard Stark Memorial Expo.’ He smiled. ‘You know, Howard Stark initially came from a neighbourhood worse-off than ours, but he managed to get up to the top because someone paid attention to his ideas. That’s what they’re doing here tonight, Pete. They’re paying attention to kids’ ideas.’

‘And if I win I get an internship?’ Peter asked eagerly.

Ben Parker smiled.

***

‘So you’ve got Rhodey keeping an eye out?’ Pepper asked as Tony led her into the bar, where everyone was waiting until all the kids set themselves up with the help of the support staff.

‘Rhodey, JARVIS, and the local authorities.’ Tony grinned as several cameras turned in their direction. ‘Smile.’

Pepper did as the cameras went off. Tony then led her around and over to the bar where Merton and Sable were already waiting. They both slightly turned their heads as the two of them approached. Sable took two glasses off of the bar in front of her and handed them over as Tony and Pepper arrived.

‘Thank you,’ Pepper said.

‘So how are we looking?’ Tony asked.

‘Well, Hammer did show up—’ Merton started off, but then cut himself off. ‘Ah! Speak of the devil.’

Tony wasn’t overly surprised when, a few seconds later, he felt a hand slap on his shoulder. ‘Stark!’ An irritatingly familiar voice said.

‘Oh, one of my least-favourite people,’ Tony said, turning.

‘Hope you don’t mind,’ Hammer said with an easily-recognisable PR smile. ‘I thought I’d pop along and see if I could get some interns of my own out of your rejects.’

Tony shrugged, barely taking notice of the by-now familiar reporter at Hammer’s shoulder. ‘Hey, your tech might actually improve.’ Besides, he was hardly the only one. Just about every company even remotely in the science and technology field was here to see if they could find some quick talent.

‘Oh!’ Hammer seemed to remember the woman behind him. ‘Chistine Everhart. She’s actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair. I thought I’d throw her a bone, you know?’ He looked at her. ‘Right?’

‘Yeah,’ she asked in a tone that Tony had become very well acquainted with over the time he’d known her.

Tony and Pepper glanced at each other.

‘Well,’ Pepper said, ‘she did quite a _spread_ on Tony last year.’

‘And she wrote a story as well,’ Tony added.

He enjoyed Hammer’s reaction to that.

***

Maria considered it highly amusing.

Although good manners dictated she wasn’t supposed to laugh. So, she turned her attention away from where Tony and Pepper were clearly ribbing the heck out of Hammer (and Merton and Sable looked moments away from erupting into laughter), and refocused on the conversation she was having with the principal of one of the schools.

Howard would have loved this. He never hesitated to let Tony know that his privilaged upbringing was the only reason his genius was recognised so easily – even if Maria and the Jarvises would have prefered he be more subtle about it – and he never hesitated to have it known how lucky he was to actually get up to where he was given how he grew up.

***

Despite the severity of the situation, Rhodey was absolutely loving this.

The interface in the War Machine armour, he was sure, was toned down. After all, Tony’s genius was well known and measured. His entrance into MIT also had gained him acceptance into Mensa. They had a very good profile of what Tony was capable of with his genius. Yeah, so Rhodey didn’t doubt that this was all toned down significantly so that he could operate it just as efficiently as Tony did his own suit.

The data that flashed across his field of vision – fascinating how he could still see the full 210 degrees – did nothing to hinder his view. In fact, it seemed more to draw his attention to what he needed to be looking at. He could see, however, exactly why Tony had insisted on him training with the suit first.

Okay, he said “get used to it”, but it was still training.

The military was kind of happy. At the time Tony had been showing him the suit, his lawyers were negotiating Tony’s conditions with the Air Force command. They definitely wanted an Iron Man suit on their side, but they were annoyed it wouldn’t be mass produced for specially trained pilots. Still, they were willing to take what they could get.

Rhodey’s attention was suddenly drawn when the interface zeroed in on something – several somethings actually.

***

A cheer went up in the crowd as the Iron Man suit descended. The suit opened up and Tony Stark stepped out, dressed head to toe in a tux. Tony stepped forward on the stage and just let the cheers roll on for as long as the audience felt the need for them. He’d been affectionately nicknamed “the Family Showboat” for a reason.

As the cheers began to tape off, Tony began. ‘Hey, guys and girls! Welcome to the Howard Stark Memorial Expo!’

The cheers went up again.

Tony waited until they tapered down. ‘So...annual expos are pretty common for us Starks. And, yes, I know a lot of you kids won’t want to hear a big speech, so I’ll keep it short. Howard Stark was born in an impoverished neighbourhood during the Great Depression. Growing up like this, he decided he would never count his pennies like his parents had to do. Before the war started, he had about three patents to his name but no means to mass produce them. His chance came when the war broke out.’

 

Tony surveyed the younger children in the crowd in front of him.

‘Don’t know how much you know about drafting, but once you were called before this thing called “the draft board”, then you had no choice but to get involved in the war effort,’ Tony said. ‘Especially if you were young and fit and over eighteen. Howard was. Usually, this meant going onto the battlefield, but he said “I can do better making weapons for the soldiers”, and then he went on and proved it. So began Stark Industries.’

Tony surveyed the whole crowd now. ‘While progress usually comes in war, it doesn’t have to be that way. And, tonight, many of you won’t have to wait for the world’s various elected heads to go to war and set up a draft board before you can do something amazing. Tonight, I want you to show me what you can do. I want to see how brilliant you all are!’

And the crowd broke into cheering again.

***

Pepper followed Tony as he and the department heads walked from station to station, watching the demonstration of each child’s invention. There were quite a few creative ideas going on and no two projects were exactly the same. A few of the kids did actually ask why there were several different groups coming for a presentation. Each time, Tony chuckled and gave a variation on the same answer.

‘The other groups are from other companies. If you don’t win one of our internships, then one of them might offer you one of their own.’

Which was basically the long and short of it. And the kids didn’t really complain, or remark futher. Or, if they did, it was to their parents or teachers. They’d gotten through a rather large chunk of the kids before JARVIS spoke through the earpiece in Tony’s ear. Pepper only knew this because Tony put a hand to his ear, dipped his head, and said quietly, ‘Activate the defences and scan the area. Let both me and Rhodey know what you find.’

‘What’s going on?’ Pepper whispered to him as they moved towards the next station.

‘Rhodey’s spotted something coming to the area,’ Tony murmured back. ‘Not sure what it is yet, but if the War Machine Armour zeroed in on it, it’s gotta be trouble.’

Pepper nodded. As she did, something caught her attention. She turned her head and looked at what had moved in her peripheral vision. It hadn’t just moved. It’d moved suddenly, going in a completely unexpected direction. She wasn’t really surprised to see Justin Hammer ducking around a corner and through a door that led to the basement.

Pepper’s eyes narrowed.

***

Vanko smirked as he moved towards the building, the drones thumping their way ahead of him.

The building was full of cars and activity. It was clear that Stark’s expo was in full swing. He’d be inside. There was no doubt about that. And, honestly, if he wanted people to rise up like his father had done...well, that was a disaster waiting to happen. There’d be more people like him and his father. Vanko would not allow that to happen.

Activating his electrofied whips, Vanko charged with the bots.

All in attack mode.


	8. Take it Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony was prepared for this.

Rhodey snorted in amusement as Vanko – with his electrified whips – bounced off the sonic barrier JARVIS shot at him. How that thing worked, Rhodey didn’t know but it sure was effective. The mass of robots that were hit by the wave froze and then promptly fell apart. Rhodey frowned at the sight.

‘JARVIS?’ he asked. ‘Should that have happened?’

‘No,’ Col. Rhodes,’ JARVIS said. ‘The robots appear to be very quickly, and very poorly, made.’

Rhodey’s eyes narrowed. ‘Hammer?’

‘It would seem to be consistent with his engineering style,’ JARVIS remarked. ‘But I cannot confirm it unless he is caught controlling the machines.’

Rhodey nodded. ‘Well, either way, we better get this cleaned up before anyone at the expo notices.’ He prepared to move.

‘Be careful of the whips, Col. Rhodes,’ JARVIS advised him. ‘My scans indicate that they have the capacity to slice through all manner of material short of vibranium.’

‘Thanks.’ Rhodey moved, using the dark colour of his suit to blend into the night as he moved – something he wouldn’t think possible if it wasn’t built by Tony Stark. Rhodey shot across the sky. Vanko was far too interested with what had knocked him back to notice War Machine coming at him before he struck.

***

‘Sir.’ JARVIS spoke up again.

‘Yeah, J?’ Tony kept his voice down, so as to not alert anyone – except Pepper, because apparently that woman could read his mind. As far as anyone else knew, though (apart from his cousins), he was just fielding a business call. ‘Got an update?’

‘Mr. Vanko appears to be employing whips attached to an exoskeleton that is powered by a device not dissimiliar to the Arc Reactor,’ JARVIS reported.

‘Not dissimilar, how?’ Tony asked, splitting his attention between what JARVIS was saying and the demonstration in front of him, while mentally counting the amount of projects he’d seen, and realising this was his second-to-last demo. That was some damn good timings. At the same time, they wanted this all done by 9 so that the younger kids could be home and in bed at a proper hour, while the teachers and various other adults stayed behind to see who was chosen for the SI internship. Vanko had probably planned this and wanted it to be fully dark by the time he started to move.

‘It is rather inferior, as if Mr. Vanko only had the schematics from somewhere between the 1960s to the 1980s, rather than the refined version you were working with.’

Added onto the fact that Tony had been looking at the real deal his whole life. He’d grown up with first-hand knowledge of how it was supposed to work. This guy had been flying blind. It was nothing short of amazing he’d managed to build a functioning replica when all he had, at best, was some antiquated schematics. ‘Uh huh.’

‘The replica appears to be supplying power to the whips to electrify them. Already, Col. Rhodes has suffered damage to his armour. He is, therefore, taking evasive manouvres and keeping out of reach of the whips. I am assisting him as there are also several drones with him, all of which appear to be Hammer Tech that have been hijacked and modified.’

Tony hid his worry behind his press smile as they moved to the final kid’s project. ‘Modified?’

‘My conclusion is that Mr. Vanko modified the drones to make them more sturdy,’ JARVIS explained. ‘Upon noticing their point of origin, I looked into Hammer Industries and discovered Mr. Hammer’s attempts to recreate your suit.’

Tony nearly snorted in amusement at this and quickly disguised it as fascination at what they kid had constructed. It wasn’t all that fake. It seemed like he’d found a way to recreate the effects of a spider’s web. Tony tested it by hanging his cell phone on the underside. It stuck good. Then, it turned out, the kid had made something to dissolve the webbing too – because he grabbed a spray bottle and proceeded to demonstrate it.

JARVIS went on. ‘Evidently, he broke Mr. Vanko out of prison and employed him for this purpose. But Mr. Vanko believed drones would be more useful. The materials are subpar, as is typical for HammerTech, but the construction is sound.’

So, in other words, Rhodey was gonna need some help.

As soon as he could extract himself, he did so. Pepper followed him. He non-verbally called Happy and his cousins over. In a low voice, as he headed for the stairs, he told them what was going on.  
‘Rhodey and I are gonna keep things over there.’ Tony pointed. ‘Hap, under no circumstances let anyone stray into the area.’

‘I think I know where Hammer is,’ Pepper said. ‘I think I saw him slip off.’

Tony nodded. ‘Merton? Sable?’ They knew what he wanted. When Pepper turned on her heel and headed in the direction Hammer had gone, they were quick to follow her.

‘Where are you going, boss?’ Happy asked.

‘Rhodey’s gonna need some help,’ Tony said.

***

Rhodey dodged another blast.

This guy was batshit crazy! Okay, well...that was a given. His old man got caught working for the Soviets off of American soil after swearing to have defected and got deported, and somehow this equalled Howard getting everything he’d actually worked his butt off for long before Vanko came onto the scene? Batshit crazy was kind of an understatement.

Rhodey curses as he barely dodged another explosion. The lack of any traffic, human or otherwise, and the fact he could actually see the damn thing when he went up high, told Rhodey that a blockade had already been set up. And JARVIS was still using the sonic wave, which Tony had somehow rigged not to affect the suit.

Then again, it was a heavy battle suit you took into the air.

Knowing Tony, he’d have layers upon layers of firewalls to prevent the thing from failing.

Probably why he also kept updating his own.

‘Shit!’ Rhodey got hit by the shockwaves of yet another self-destructing robot and thrown. He tumbled and hit the ground hard. Rhodey supposed he must’ve blacked out for a bit, because shortly after he heard Tony’s voice.

‘Rhodey? Rhodey, you all right?’

Rhodey flipped the face mask off and looked up with a groan. ‘Oh, man! How do you even use this thing all the time?’

‘You’ll get used to it,’ Tony said with a wide smile, reaching a hand down. ‘Come on, I need you.’

Rhodey took his hand and allowed his best friend to pull him back up. Rhodey looked around. Most of the drones around them were on the ground, and in pieces. Rhodey looked at Tony. ‘So, what’d you do?’ He had a feeling it was gonna be something real simple.

‘EMP emitted from the suit,’ Tony said. ‘Of course, your suit is shielded against it.’

Yeah, well, naturally.

_CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK._

Rhodey and Tony both turned their heads. There was another set of drones coming at them. Up close, Rhodey could now clearly see the Hammer Industries insignia. Tony’s face-plate flicked down and he immediately scanned them. ‘Okay, it takes them about a minute to power up their repulsors – which are sub-par, by the way – and then they’ve got a 12% chance of falling apart after using their weapons.’

‘Isn’t that kind of low for HammerTech?’ Rhodey asked, flicking his own face-plate down.

‘HammerTech material, but Vanko built them.’

‘Then let’s get this show on the road.’ Rhodey powered up his repulsors.

***

Pepper strode downstairs, Merton and Sable right at her heels.

‘What’ve you got?’ Pepper asked quietly. Because they were Holmeses – and their genius hadn’t been concentrated into a specific field like Howard’s and Tony’s hand been. So, as a direct result, they saw everything. It sounded completely overwhelming, and Pepper didn’t envy them for it. But she imagined it was very useful in their respective lines of work.

‘First door on the left,’ Sable said. ‘It’s the only one that’s in use down here.’

‘How can you tell?’ Pepper asked.

As they stopped at the door in question Merton ducked down and pointed to the space between the floor and the bottom of the door. ‘There’s light coming through. They’re using computers in there – a _lot_ of computers. They haven’t got the lights on though. And, listen.’ As he said this, he lifted his phone.

Pepper noticed Sable do the same. Both had their voice memo programs running.

Hammer’s voice could be heard from the other side. He didn’t sound happy. ‘—Well _I_ never gave those orders! I only knew you guys were down here because one of my department heads called me up to see how things were going! Vanko’s meant to be at the lab, turning those drones into suits!’

Someone muttered something from the other side, too quietly to be heard.

‘He said what?!’ Hammer demanded. ‘That wasn’t the plan! I mean, I know I said I wanted to destroy Tony Stark but I don’t wanna kill him!’

Merton then, without turning the voice memo off, pocketed his phone and, after a quick manipulation of the handle, pushed the door open. ‘Then you should’ve done your homework. That was _exactly_ what Vanko wanted to do from the start.’


	9. Keep it Contained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Rhodey engage Vanko, in a contained area.
> 
> Pepper, Sable, and Merton confront Hammer.

Once the face-plates were down, the gloves were clearly off.

Stark and his friend vaulted into the air. The sonic barrier pulsated. Any drones that tried to leave the perimeter were immediately thrown back and shattered. Vanko cursed Hammer’s sub-par materials. He’d noticed while he’d been building them. Hammer had refused to get him sufficient resources – lousy penny-pincher, as the Americans called it. He’d had to make do with what he had. Of course that was why he’d made an abundance of drones.

Still, Vanko cursed again as he saw Stark and his little buddy swoop throught the air, using their repulsors – which had been made with the proper materials, by the way – to absolutely sweep through the drones. They might actually beat him, but he still had one trick up his sleeve. He quickly made the necessary alterations.

Then he charged at the two suits of armour.

***

Hammer spun around. ‘Hey, hey, you’re not supposed to be in here!’

‘And neither,’ Sable flicked up her work ID, ‘are you.’

Pepper found it entire amusing to watch an entire room of men go white in the face, especially when you considered how slight Sable herself was.

Hammer quickly recovered though. ‘Isn’t that a British agency?’

Sable smirked. ‘I’m here on special assignment.’

‘What’s going on in here?’ Pepper demanded. Just like her cousin, there was a time and a place to be amused by Sable’s antics. Now was neither the time or the place. Instead, Pepper needed to focus on this.

‘Hey, leave it be, sweetheart.’ Hammer waved a hand at her. ‘We had this all worked out until your guy barged in!’

‘Bullshit.’ Merton strode forward and yanked one of the technicians out of his chair. ‘Sable?’

Sable was over in the chair and her fingers were flying across the keyboard. ‘Oh, that’s an illegal alien, you know. He’s supposed to be sitting in a cell.’

Pepper frowned. ‘I’m calling the police.’ She was already dialling.

‘Aw, no, honey!’ Hammer protested. ‘Don’t call the cops!’ He made a move to stop her but he was stopped himself.

Merton had flicked out a sidearm.

Hammer flinched back. ‘Why do you have that?’

‘My cousin maybe in intelligence, but I go around busting crooks,’ Merton said. ‘As you can imagine, my Firearm Certificate is always up to date.’

Pepper finished her call and remarked to him. ‘Well, here you have the right to bear arms without any liscencing system.’

‘If you’re an American citizen,’ Merton pointed out, drawing the document in question out of his jacket with his free hand. ‘I’m not.’

‘You don’t need to call the police!’ Hammer insisted. ‘I’m sure we can use other ways to sort this out.’

‘Well, I could always beat you senseless, yes,’ Merton said, ‘but then, that’d make me a thug more than a detective, wouldn’t it?’

Even though she herself didn’t condone violence, she was kind of sorry that Hammer wouldn’t learn how badly a Holmes could beat him first-hand.

***

Over 47% of the drones had already been destroyed.

Tony and Rhodey swooped around in an arc, sweeping even more drones. _54%._

But Tony was looking for Vanko. And he found him...just in time to dodge one of those electrified whips. Tony was swooping low to take out another batch of drones. He saw the whip coming – kind of stupid making it glow with the electricity like that. You could see it coming like a neon light.

Tony flew upwards, but he still saw it hit the drones that’d been behind him.

They were sliced in half, like a hot knife through butter.

‘J, what are the odds of those whips damaging the suits?’

‘The gold titanium would offer more protection than the drones have,’ JARVIS immediately reported back. ‘He’d have to hack away at one spot to actually get to your flesh. But they would cause you problems if they did hit you.’

Tony nodded. ‘Let Rhodey know.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Tony spun around in mid-air and brought himself up to an altitude that he guesstimated was safe from Vanko’s whips. He could see the other man glaring up at him, brow creased in concentration.

‘What do you wanna to about this, man?’ Rhodey asked.

‘Two whips, two of us, I wanna know how coordinated he is with those things.’

‘Good thinking. If he can keep track of both of us and use those things on us, I’ll be impressed.’

‘Me too. Let’s go!’

Tony swooped around Vanko in one direction, making a quick check of the drones. _Stasis Mode_ , the scanner in front of him read. Rhodey swooped around on his other side. Vanko glanced between them and lashed out with both whips. _As I thought._ Tony nodded to himself in confirmation.

‘Okay, we got that,’ Rhodey said, swooping around. ‘So, what’s the plan?’

‘Well, he’s focused on me,’ Tony pointed out. ‘The housing on that arc reactor rip-off he’s got isn’t too secure. One good hit and it should come clean out.’

‘This suit can do that?’

‘You just need one clean shot. I’ll provide it.’

‘You sure?’

‘He’s too focused on me for you to be the decoy.’

‘Good point.’

And Tony dived in again, while Rhodey retreated. Vanko’s eyes focused in on him. He lashed the whips at him. First, one after the other. Tony dodged both of them as they came. When Vanko tried to lash both of them at him at once, it was even easier to swoop out of the way. The whips came at him in about the same spot.

Barring a few close calls, things actually went quite well.

Then the drones started shooting at him.

Tony spun around, mind quickly calculating all the angles he was getting attacked from and where he needed to be to avoid getting hit. Most of the shots were ineffective against the armour anyway. That was, until one of those whips hit him. Tony was thrown back and hit the ground, tumbling. A sting on the side of his face told him he’d scratched it on the inside of the helmet. Unfortunately, that was unavoidable when it came to the face-plate.

Tony was back on his feet in an instant. He watched Vanko approaching him with a feral grin. Both of his arms were down and the whips crackled as he approached. Tony imagined it was meant to be menacing and dramatic. But, unfortunately for Vanko, it also gave Rhodey the opening he needed.

The repulsor light shot from behind Tony and hit Vanko clear in the chest.

With a loud bang, and a scream, Vanko went flying back. The imitation Arc Reactor went flying from his chest and his whips fell from his hands. The drones all dropped like rocks. Rhodey landed next to Tony and flicked his face-plate up. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah.’ Tony flicked his own face-plate up. ‘Let’s go.’

They two of them strode across, trampling the now-dead imitation reactor and whips as they went.

Vanko laid on his back and didn’t move. Rhodey lifted his hands and the repulsors activated, but he didn’t fire.

Tony crouched down. ‘I guess you spent your whole life listening to your dad say that my dad’s fortune was the result of the Arc Reactor. I don’t know where he got that idea. The Stark fortune was made on the back of World War II. We Starks were rich long before your dad ever met mine. But I guess you’ve grown up believing you have some sort of a claim to the money and empire of Stark Industries.’ He shook his head, pityingly. ‘I’ll be honest: you’re an idiot, but I don’t entirely blame you. If things had gone the other way, I’d probably do the same thing you’re doing now. I can forgive that you’re angry. Your dad lost the biggest pissing contest of his life and, as a result, you lived in poverty while I lived in privilege. I can forgive you being mad about that.’ His eyes narrowed and became like coals. ‘But this was a memorial event. There were poor kids here from all over the city; here for a chance to make their lives better. And you attacked that. That’s something I’ll never forgive.’

Tony stood up and stepped back.

Vanko stared at him for a long moment, and then he smiled. He lifted a hand to a device that Tony only now noticed was strapped to his chest. ‘You lose.’ He hit a switch.

The contraption still wrapped around him exploded.

***

Sable leapt to her feet, drawing the attention of the police who had already escorted Hammer and his guys out, her cousin, and Pepper.

She hit a few keys. ‘Bloody hell!’

‘What is it?’ Merton asked.

‘Vanko’s linked a detonator to these computers!’ Sable rocketed away. ‘It’s gonna blow!’

Sable and Merton were quick to duck out of the room. Most of the remaining police officers rushed out too – barring the one in charge. Pepper, who’d been looking at the CCTV footage on the other side of the room was quick to respond to the officer, who gestured to her to come over to him so he could get her out. But she only got about half-way to the door.

The computer exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes...THE EVIL CLIFFHANGER OF DOOM.


	10. Final Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has one more rescue to perform tonight - and the most important one to him.

‘Tony.’ Merton’s voice came through. ‘Vanko blew up the computers. As far as I know, no one’s injured.’

‘As far as you know?’ Rhodey asked.

Merton clarified. ‘Pepper’s been buried under some rubble.’

Tony’s heart froze.

‘We can’t actually get to her to find out.’

He was off like a shot.

***

‘Pepper?’

For a moment, Pepper had no idea what’d happened. Then the pain brought it back to her. “The pain” consisted of aching in her head, right shoulder and left leg. Pepper instinctive tried to push herself up. She barely moved though and she found herself stopped by debris above her. It was too dark to see anything so she hadn’t the foggiest idea how she’d avoided getting crushed.

‘Pepper? Are you still alive under there?’

Pepper turned her head. It was such a Holmes thing for Merton to ask. Still, it was their way of showing concern, so the least she could do was respond. ‘Yes.’ She was surprised at the way her voice cracked as she said it. It wasn’t that she was afraid of running out of air. It was more to the point that with being unsure what was holding the debris off of her, it could give at any moment.

‘Okay.’ Merton ignored what he doubtlessly heard in her voice. ‘Give it some time and we’ll have you out of there. I’ve already called Tony. He’s on his way—’ There was a loud crash outside. ‘—He’s here.’

Pepper took a deep breath.

***

As soon as Tony crashed through the wall, Merton twisted around.

He was leaning over a pile of debris. Tony ignored Sable calming all the officers who’d been startled by his entrance. Instead, he quickly x-rayed the rubble. Pepper was under there all right. He didn’t need Merton to tell him that. But she didn’t have a lot of room. Despite the fact that his gut was currently sitting in his throat, Tony quickly took stock of every piece of debris around her. There was a particular beam that was holding most of the debris off of her. He had to get her out without disrupting that.

Merton stood up. ‘I guess you already know that the kind of equipment they’d need would take too much to get in here.’ He looked at him. ‘And from that silence, I’d say we might not have the time either.’

‘Probably not, no,’ Tony said. ‘Get everyone out of the room.’

Merton looked up, no doubt seeing the instability of the room itself – which was the direct result of the explosion. Then he turned and walked to the door. He and Sable ushered everyone else out. Tony nodded to himself and walked over to the rubble which kept his Pepper trapped. He flicked the face-plate up.

‘Pepper?’ he called.

‘Tony, did you blow a wall in?’ Pepper asked, sounding like she was trying to be reprimanding.

‘Yeah, not my brightest idea.’ Tony looked around. The room looked like it would collapse any second. ‘Look, this place is gonna collapse at any moment and there’s only one way I’m getting you out. But you’ll need to react pretty fast.’

‘...No.’

‘Pep, you don’t have much of a choice,’ Tony told her. ‘There is a single beam holding that debris off of you. Anything moves and the whole thing’s gonna come down on your head. We’ve gotta do this fast.’

Pepper groaned. ‘You’re such a jerk...’

‘Yup.’ Tony took a deep breath. ‘Okay, I’m gonna knock the stuff out of the way and the grab you. When I do, clamp onto the front of the suit. All right?’

She audibly took a deep breath. ‘Fine!’

Tony stood up and the face-plate slid back down. ‘J? 2% power.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Tony lifted his hand and fired. The repulsor beam shot across and hit the debris right in front of Pepper. In the split second he shut it off, he shot forward. Pepper gave a squawk of alarm and clamped onto the front of his suit. The debris rained down onto his back, and it just kept coming. Then JARVIS said in his ear, ‘Sir, the entire room appears to be caving in.’

‘Noted!’ Tony wrapped his arms around Pepper and fired off the feet repulsors, shooting them both up into the air and using his own protected body to shield her from the wood, stone, metal, and plaster they smashed through. This time, it was a yell of alarm that Pepper gave out. Tony sailed up and came to a land onto the nearest rooftop.

As soon as he landed, he let go of Pepper. She immediately pushed back and staggered away from him. ‘For God’s sakes, Tony!’

‘Sorry,’ he said, deactivating the helmet so it folded into the shoulders of the suit. ‘Room started to collapse.’

‘I heard.’ She paused for a minute to catch her breath and waved a hand at him.

Now, Tony took a good look at her. She was dirty and had a few scrapes on her. But she was alive. _She’s alive._ Tony walked over. ‘Are you okay?’

Pepper looked up at him and nodded. Then her eyes zeroed in on his face and she stepped towards him. ‘What about you?’ She reached up and touched his face with her fingertips, right above his cheek. The sting surprised him, but he barely noticed it. She was alive and she was so close...

‘Yeah,’ he said softly. ‘Blew himself up.’

‘So he’s gone then?’ Pepper asked. As she talked, he found his eyes glued to her lips. She was alive and she was fine. ‘No more of this crazy running around and worrying about a maniac?’

‘No,’ he said softly.

‘How’d you beat him?’ Pepper looked at him. He wondered if she noticed that her hand had moved down to his cheek and was just sitting there.

‘People can’t multitask,’ Tony murmured. ‘Using two whips in each hand, with two targets means one target’s going to get neglected. So I distracted him while Rhodey snuck up and knocked him down.’

‘Tony...’ The reprimand was light and had nothing in it.

‘Well, like I said to Rhodey,’ it was only now that Tony realised he was leaning in, ‘he was after me, so I was the logical bait.’

Pepper sighed and slight shook her head. ‘Don’t ever do that again.’

Tony just smiled. Then, before even he knew what he was doing, he leaned in and kissed her.

Kissing Pepper Potts was something he’d dreamed of forever. She tasted like the martini she’d had at the bar, and just a dash of vanilla latte that he didn’t doubt she’d drunk earlier. His arms wound around her and he felt her other hand slide into his hair. He wanted to stay here forever. When she went to pull away, he quickly stole one last kiss. Then he pulled back and looked at her.

He expected something like when this nearly happened last year – the wide eyes and pale face and babbling as she was overcome by nerves. Instead, her eyes remained closed and she looked almost serene. Still, he remembered her statements – too many to count – which had all amounted to him not being able to hold a commitment.

‘And don’t do that again?’ he asked, hesitantly.

Pepper opened her eyes and smiled. ‘No. You can do that again.’

With a grin, Tony ducked his head down and kissed her again. Unfortunately it didn’t last long.

Rhodey announced his presence on the rooftop.

‘Please! Not while I’m here!’

Tony looked at him. ‘Then go find another roof.’

‘Hey, I was here first!’

Pepper just chuckled and laid her head on Tony’s shoulder.

***

May Parker looked up as the front door banged open and her 12-year-old nephew rushed in.

‘Aunt May! Aunt May! I’ve got a letter from Stark Industries!’

‘All right.’ May set aside her paperwork. ‘Let’s see.’

Peter rushed over to her, ripping the envelope open. He was soon jumping up and down on the spot as he read it. ‘I got in, Aunt May! I got in!’

May smiled and hugged him. She waited for him to calm down. According to the information pack, the parents or guardians of every child who was chosen for the internship would get an information pack. So, as Peter rushed off to call up Ned and tell him, she sifted through the mail. Sure, enough there was a second envelope from Stark Industries. This one addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Parker. She opened it up. Inside, she found a few forms – most of which pertained to Peter’s age and locality – and one letter. May lifted the letter to read it.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Parker,_

_We, at Stark Industries, are pleased to inform you that Peter Parker has been accepted into a Stark Industries internship._

_In the instance that he is too young to take this internship, he will be placed on the list and brought in when he finishes the required education. The product in which he won this internship will be patented under his name but also under the Stark Industries banner. For more information, please see the Patent Leaflet._

_Please read the information carefully as this internship is to be regarded as a lifelong commitment, and please fill out and return the forms as soon as possible._

_We look forward to bringing a new face into the industry._

_Yours Sincerely._

_A. E. Stark.  
Chief Executive Officer – Stark Industries._

***

Maria was smiling so widely, her face was actually starting to hurt but she didn’t care. ‘So, you two have finally stopped dancing around each other then?’

Tony jumped, evidently not having realised she was there. Pepper, though, was fast asleep on his chest. ‘Mom!’ He still kept his voice down though. ‘So...what’d you hear?’

‘You had to rescue Pepper from under some rubble and ended up kissing on a rooftop.’ Maria smiled wistfully. ‘Much nicer than the first kiss I had with your father.’

‘Really?’ Tony cocked an eyebrow. ‘How’s that?’

‘Oh, we were both under the rubble.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have one more one-shot and then, unless I'm hit with inspiration later, that's the end of the series.


End file.
